Name of Tennessee facts for kids
Have you ever wondered where the name "Tennessee" comes from? It's a name with a long history, stretching back hundreds of years to the time when Native Americans lived on the land. The story involves Spanish explorers, Cherokee towns, and even a governor who helped make the name famous!
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The Story Behind the Name Tennessee
Early Encounters and Names
The first time anyone wrote down a name similar to "Tennessee" was in 1567. A Spanish explorer named Captain Juan Pardo was traveling through what is now the southeastern United States. He and his team passed through a Native American village called "Tanasqui." This village was likely located near where the Pigeon River meets the French Broad River, close to modern-day Newport, Tennessee.
Later, in the early 1700s, British traders met a Cherokee town called Tanasi. This town was in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. It was located on a river that also shared the name Tanasi, which we now call the Little Tennessee River. Maps from as early as 1725 showed this town and river. It's not certain if this was the same village Juan Pardo saw, but it was definitely an important place.
What Does "Tennessee" Mean?
The exact meaning of the word "Tennessee" is still a bit of a mystery! For a long time, people thought its meaning was lost. However, newer research suggests that the Cherokee people might have adapted the name from an older Yuchi word. This Yuchi word likely meant "meeting place."
This idea makes a lot of sense because many old maps show similar names for places where rivers joined together. For example, there were names like Tahnisee and Tunnashe. The Yuchi language has a phrase, "Tana-tsee-dgee," which means "brother-waters-place" or, more simply, "where the waters meet." This sounds a lot like what we know as Tennessee!
How the Name Became Official
The way we spell "Tennessee" today became popular thanks to James Glen. He was the governor of South Carolina in the 1750s, and he used this spelling in his official letters. The spelling became even more well-known when Henry Timberlake published his famous map, Draught of the Cherokee Country, in 1765.
In 1788, the state of North Carolina created a new area called "Tennessee County." This was one of the first counties in what is now Middle Tennessee. Later, when leaders met in 1796 to create a new state from the Southwest Territory, they decided to officially name it "Tennessee." And that's how the name we know today became the name of the state!
